


May I Have This Dance

by kakyoin_comehome



Category: Splatoon
Genre: Angst, Dancing Lessons, Homophobia, I'll add add more as i go, M/M, Slow Burn, future fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2021-01-27 20:09:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21397945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kakyoin_comehome/pseuds/kakyoin_comehome
Summary: The paper crinkled at the edges from Army’s grip and he hadn’t even realized he had begun trembling.What was he was supposed to do now.
Relationships: Army/Aloha
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

The envelope laying on his counter taunted him. The crisp white paper seemed all too bright and the beautifully written calligraphy even had a condescending air to it. 

Now you may be wondering how writing could be condescending but if you’ve ever met Army’s parents then you would definitely know. 

He couldn’t even begin to understand why he even received a letter from them. He hadn’t spoken to his family ever since they had a falling out a few years back, and honestly, he hadn’t minded it. If he had the choice between going back to his parents and chewing his own leg off then he’d gladly sacrifice a limb if it kept him out of that prison. 

The orange inkling had been estranged from his family ever since they found out about his sexuality. They weren’t exactly overjoyed to learn that their son was gay- well really that’s an understatement. There had been shouting, a few colorful words were spoken by his father and in the end, Army was left with a small bag of his belongings. He had no money, nowhere to go and at the moment he wasn’t sure how he would survive. 

That was how he met Forge. Forge had given him a chance when no one else would. If it hadn’t been for her giving him a place to stay when he was at his lowest, well he doesn’t know where he would be now. Yes, Forge saved his life and he couldn’t be any more grateful. 

He remembers when he first met the inkling. He had been wandering around the Plaza, the sun slowly sinking beyond the horizon. Large, dark clouds crowded the sky, the gloom of the weather seemed to match the events of the day. Army hadn’t had the first clue on what to even do. He didn’t have any friends in the city, the only connections he had were with the children on the other nobles that his parents were in contact with and he was sure that by now they all had gotten word of his exile.

‘Oh yes, golf on Friday sounds wonderful, perhaps we could go for brunch beforehand. By the way, if by any chance Army comes asking for lodging do be a dear and refuse him. It appears he’s betrayed us by being some homosexual’

Yeah, his chances were essentially non-existent. Army was getting ready to give up hope and find some sort of alleyway or some sort of business that would maybe let him stay overnight when he heard the tell-tale crack of thunder and before he even had time to react rain began pouring from the sky. He hiked his bag up over his head in an attempt to shield himself while he whipped around looking for shelter. Each drop felt like fire on his skin. The teen bolted for the closest building, crashing through the double doors and quickly moving to lean against a wall. His skin was burning and irritated and he had a feeling that he looked like an outright mess, orange bleeding down in drops over his face. Army rested his weight against the wall, his head falling forward as he huffed out breath after breath.

“Um, excuse me?”

Army looked up to be greeted by a female inkling, orange just like him. She was holding an umbrella in her left hand, and looked as if she was getting ready to head out into that ungodly downpour. 

“This may not be my place but, I could give you something to dry off with?”She offered, a strange look in her eyes. Was it pity? He didn’t need anyone’s pity, sure he was down but he wasn’t out, and charity was not something he needed to accept. He could do this on his own. 

“No thank you, I appreciate your offer but I will be alright on my own,” He said coldly, forcing himself to straighten up, and squared his shoulders in an attempted to project an air of power.

This girl simply shrugged and undid the latch on her umbrella, “Suit yourself” and with that, she headed outside into the rain. 

Army immediately slumped down into the floor when she was out of sight. He was internally kicking himself, the one person that had offered him help- and quite possibly the only person that would- and he refused it. Even when he knew his situation was unfavorable he let his pride get the best of him. The little inkling pulled his knees up to his chest, hoping the night would go quickly or that he would just fall asleep and forget everything that happened in the past 8 hours and he got his wish.

He wasn’t sure what time it was when he was awoken by someone shaking him. Army started awake, smacking his head on the wall in the process, squinting his eyes to see the orange inkling from earlier. 

“Get up” She commanded

“Wha-”

“Shut up and come with me, you’re shaking like a leaf and obviously haven’t moved since I left so I’m taking you to my place to get cleaned up” Judging by the tone she obviously wasn’t playing around this time, and to be frank Army wasn’t exactly in the position to refuse her this time. So despite himself, he dragged himself to his feet and followed her to the elevator. 

From there Forge had given him a warm place to stay, food to eat, and had helped him put himself back up on his feet. She helped him train in turf warring, staying by his side no matter how difficult he was and she truly meant the world.

Unfortunately, that nice little trip down memory lane did nothing about the little letter staring him down from his countertop. So Army decided to bite the bullet and snatched it off the counter and ripped it open.

‘Dearest Army,

It’s been so long since we last spoke since your incident. Your mother and I would like to humbly apologize for how we handled the situation. You have to understand from a parent’s perspective, it was very hard on us to discover that our own child was such a deviant that he would stray from life’s path like that but I digress. We are hosting a ball for our military comrades and their families and would be a pleasure if you would attend, as we have someone we would like for you to meet. Of course, you may bring a suitable guest. We hope to see you there.

Signed,  
Father’

The paper crinkled at the edges from Army’s grip and he hadn’t even realized he had begun trembling.

What was he was supposed to do now.


	2. Chapter 2

“So what are you going to do about this whole… situation,”

Army was perched on a stool in Forge’s kitchen, his hands wrapped around a mug of steaming tea. He couldn’t even remember what kind it was, but it had a vaguely minty taste to it so he was thinking it was some sort of peppermint or spearmint. There was also a hint of lemon but it was much stronger than the mint and the fruity citrus actually complimented the bite of the mint. He made a mental note to ask his friend what brand this was because it was absolutely sublime. Perhaps just a bit of sugar could add that nice little level of sweetness to balance out the other flavors, oh yes that sounded lovely.

“Army.” Forge’s deadpan drew the orange inkling out of his thoughts and he begrudgingly lifted his head to look at her. His eyes were puffy from the crying fit that he would vehemently deny having ever had and his breath whistled quietly through his congested nose. Oh yeah, there were discussing his problem weren’t they.

Maybe he should have stayed home and cried by himself. At least then he wouldn’t have to deal with a therapy session with Forge, who wasn’t typically known for her caring and compassionate nature. She liked to tell it as it was and nine times out of ten that’s what Army needed to hear but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

“I-I don’t know what I’m going to do about this. What can I do about this? I haven’t so much as spoken to either of them in years and then all of sudden they decide to invite me to a military ball? This doesn’t make any sense at all. It doesn’t make sense for them to effectively disown me and then one day decide that they would like to reconcile. You don’t know them as I do, but my father could hold a grudge like no other. Once you have done him wrong he had no use for you. He cut his friend of 30 years out of his life completely simply because he brought a cheap brand of wine to one of his dinners. He’s a petty and stubborn man, this is completely out of character for him.

“Thing is you haven’t wronged him thou-”

“Well, he appears to believe so,”Army mumbled, running his finger around the rim of the teacup.

“Frankly, it doesn’t matter what he believes. Your sexuality isn’t some dirty mistake that you’ve made and that’s his own fault for thinking that way” Forge seethed, her own cup of tea clenched in her hand. She couldn’t understand how someone who was supposed to love their child unconditionally could do something so heartless, and over who their son loves nonetheless! Not to mention his mother doing nothing except going on with this bullshit like it was the proper way to handle the situation. This entire fiasco made her blood boil, especially looking at the fact that it happened to Army. Don’t get her wrong, no one deserved to be tossed out like that but she couldn’t think of anyone less deserving than the inkling in front of her. In the time that she’s known him, she’s seen how he wants nothing but to improve.

Many people think he’s neurotic and uptight, especially when it comes to his manuals, but the fact of the matter is that he just wants to better himself. They weren’t with him through the nightly training sessions where he would run himself ragged because he wasn’t fast enough, or he didn’t hit his target correctly. They weren’t with him when he would analyze every single turf war looking for a slight mistake or misstep that he could change. They weren’t with him on those particularly bad nights when he would confide in Forge that he didn’t feel as if he was strong enough to lead, when Army was his absolute worst. No one else was there with him, but she was. Forge had seen her friend through every moment of self-doubt, hatred, and fear. Everyone else could say what they wished, but they didn’t know him as she did.

“Well, the way I see it there are only two things you can really do. You could send your parents back a nicely worded letter telling him in no uncertain terms to kindly go fuck himself, but knowing you that probably won’t happen,” Forge ignored the look that her friend sent him, “Or you can go to that ball and see exactly what kind of game he is trying to play. I don’t mean to play Devil’s advocate but maybe he really is trying to reconcile. It’s been years since this has happened and there could be a chance that something has caused him to have a change of heart. You never know, and you won’t know until you go.”

“But what if this is just some sort of stunt designed to humiliate me even further. I do not believe i could handle much more of this, I just want this fiasco to be over and done with.”

“I understand that completely, and you have every right to be skeptical but like I said you never know until you find out for yourself. You’ll only live with the uncertainty unless you act” Forge shrugged, taking a long sip of her tea.

Army sighed quietly, looking down at his now cold beverage. He hated it but he knew that Forge had a point. The real reason for his parents’ actions would be unknown unless he actually sought it out. The inkling would love nothing more than to just throw the letter out and forget this ever happened. He would go about his regular life just like he had days before. Despite this, he already knew what he was going to do and he wasn’t excited for it in the slightest.

His eyes drifted to his wrist, focusing on his watch and another sigh left his mouth. The S4 was due to have a meeting in half an hour and he wouldn’t stand for being late. Aloha already showed up whenever he deemed proper- which an hour late was never a proper time- and he couldn’t make a bad example of himself.

Army slid himself off the stool, straightening his parka. “Thank you for your time Forge, I appreciate it greatly but I’m afraid I must leave now”

“Anytime Army, you know my door is always open for you” A gentle smile formed on her lips as she watched Army walked to the door.

“I’ll let you know how the meeting goes, and I will see you for training tomorrow as well. Goodbye” and with that last goodbye, Army made his way out the door.

Forge’s head slumped down slightly, her shoulders hunching. Why was Army always the one getting into these predicaments? Forge’s head whipped up when the door opened to Army popped his head back in.

“By the way, what was the brand of that tea? It was absolutely splendid”

“Army go to your meeting”


End file.
